Truck Bed Liner

[AnchorageGuy]

Originally Posted by hpeer

Try this. Pretty highly rated by Practical Sailor. We just did it last year, so far so good.

Durabak Colored Bed Liner Paint, Do It Yourself Bed Liner

We had a pretty bad experience with Durabak on our decks. We put it on exactly according to manufacturers directions. We used the Cream because we wanted a light color on the decks. Within weeks gray splotches started showing through and continued until the decks looked like camouflage. The manufacturer said we had a bad batch and replaced it. Guess what, the exact same thing happened again. The manufacturer said we must have done something wrong. We paid for a third batch, now consider the work it has taken to do this 3 times, and by golly, the third time it did the same thing. And we quickly found out that it is near impossible to keep clean and even remove normal dirt from the material. After all of that we finally removed it ALL and redid the decks with Tuffcoat. Never had one bit of trouble with the Tuffcoat and it's easy to clean. Lots of other folks reported the same problems with it. Chuck

[jeepbluetj]

Originally Posted by Canibul

How do you think it would look applied to an overhead that is the typical texture of fiberglass mat? Is it goopy enough to roll on overhead on a ceiling?
Would it 'smooth out' the lumps and weave in the glass mat texture?

Duraback is _really_ rough. Think amazingly coarse sandpaper. It'd be great on the deck of a tugboat or something, not for use as a headliner. (It's ground up tires in a 1-part poly base). If they had a "fine" version (the rubber bits smaller) maybe, but I've only ever used the standard knobbly one.

I've used it on jeeps, trailers, etc.. If you rub up against a part that's been durabacked, it can scrape you pretty good.

It's some tough stuff though.

Best texture results from spraying it - not rolling it. I use an undercoating gun. (That gets thrown away when done, along with everything I was wearing)

Oh, and don't get it on your hootus. (Not me, and it was herculiner - but that's the same stuff with a different name)

[Canibul]

Ah, Herculiner. I've used that. I now understand what you are talking about. This is for a boat in the tropics full time. Lots of bare skin contact. Sandpaper just won't do. Even for the kinkier ones.

I've got enough patience to wait until I can find a condom and would never be desperate enough to use bedliner on the hootus. and mine's not long enough to stir a gallon with, either.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Canibul

How do you think it would look applied to an overhead that is the typical texture of fiberglass mat? Is it goopy enough to roll on overhead on a ceiling?
Would it 'smooth out' the lumps and weave in the glass mat texture?

Do you remember if it is a hazardous material with any shipping regs? I guess in other words, is it flammable in liquid form?

Thanks for any info on this. I'm really interested in the possibility of using the textured version on the stripped interior of our old boat.

It is a hazardous material and quite smelly. I might be tempted to go with the other more latex like stuff like Kiwigrip for something like that..Although anything thick with the right roller might do what you want.
I can take a pic of the Durabak on my deck steps if it will help... pretty agressive stuff.

[Canibul]

Thanks, Cheech, but it's looking like the overwhelming opinion here agrees with you. Sounds like good stuff for the bed of a pickup truck, but not for scooting around on with bare wet skin.

The Tuffcoat stuff is water based, which means it can be air shipped. This is critical for me unless I want to have it shipped to Miami, put on a boat, and brought down that way. Big pain in the posterior. And the Tuffcoat looks to be more oriented to the marine market. Cabelas and Bass Pro both carry this stuff and that's pretty convenient for me, too. International shipping and no hazmat etc.

I'll certainly check out the Kiwigrip, too, and thanks for the lead.

[Cap Erict3]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

It is a hazardous material and quite smelly. I might be tempted to go with the other more latex like stuff like Kiwigrip for something like that..Although anything thick with the right roller might do what you want.
I can take a pic of the Durabak on my deck steps if it will help... pretty agressive stuff.

There will be a MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) on it if it a hazardous product for industrial use in the USA.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by Canibul

Ah, Herculiner. I've used that. I now understand what you are talking about. This is for a boat in the tropics full time. Lots of bare skin contact. Sandpaper just won't do. Even for the kinkier ones.

I've got enough patience to wait until I can find a condom and would never be desperate enough to use bedliner on the hootus. and mine's not long enough to stir a gallon with, either.

Gawd this was funny!

[Canibul]

I wouldn't have had either the patience or the honesty in my early years.


Hey, does that stuff come in flesh colored quarts?

[hpeer]

For a different opinion, we applied Duraback last year. At our age exposed skin isn't a big deal!

But my wife loves it, not for the looks, but because it greatly increased her comfort when walking on deck, she now feels much safer. We used tread master is some areas such as around mast, but by compassion it is slippery.

With our penchant for steel we may lean towards the tug boat end of the spectrum. And we sail North. So for us it seems to be a good choice.

[captainbri]

Ide like to see a builder make one boat with this stuff. FG then marine ply then a good 1/4 coat on the inside of the bed liner. This stuff it as tough as it gets. And then see what kind of abuse the boat would take. I did see a 70 ft houseboat with yhe pontoons sprayed with a good coating of the bed liner. The guy loves it he. doesn't worry about damaging the pontoons anymore

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[roddymac]

I used Al's Liner (Al's Liner. DIY Truck Bed Liners!) above rough wood to seal 4'x4' shower floor area and 6" up walls . After one season it remains quite satisfactory. Used a roller to rough up the (third coat) surface, which produced a decent non-slip surface. Never used the product before; don't own stock in the company. It seemed less expensive than alternatives I considered for the area involved. Limited in color selection, I think black, white and gray (I selected gray). Allows some work time before setting up, which occurs quickly when it starts. The shower drain was installed on top of the wet 2nd coat of liner material; no leaks. I am rather pleased with the result.

[socaldmax]

Line-X, for example, is a form of polyurea, as is UHMW. The interesting thing about UHMW is it's extremely slippery, yet extremely tough.

I've been toying with the idea of using it as a bottom paint. Based on what I've read, it's so slippery that marine growth can't get a grip on it to grow. Imagine a bottom paint that serves as a water barrier (in addition to, or instead of epoxy) that is also a bottom paint that never wears out and is non-toxic.

Another added benefit is dramatically stronger hull surface. The military has discovered that a thinner layer of armor plating, with a thick coating of UHMW is actually much more resistant to bomb blasts. So let's say a 1/8" - 3/16" layer of this stuff on the hull, with an extra thick 1/4" to 5/16" layer right on the leading edge and keel would drastically improve your chances in the event of a collision with a container, or grounding.

I've seen videos where they constructed a water jug with cardboard on 5 sides, with the 6th side being polyurea sprayed directly onto the water inside. Ther was another video where the military sprayed a thick coating on 1/2 of a cinder block wall, then detonated a bomb just on the other side. The untreated side was completely destroyed, the treated side deflected in maybe 9 - 10", then sprang back into it's original shape. All of the mortar was gone, but the cinder blocks were still attached to the coating, and more importantly, anyone who was behind it would still be alive.

The properly chosen formulation could end up being a lifetime bottom paint, inhibiting growth, strengthening the hull, and inhibiting osmosis.

[socaldmax]

Originally Posted by captainbri

Ide like to see a builder make one boat with this stuff. FG then marine ply then a good 1/4 coat on the inside of the bed liner. This stuff it as tough as it gets. And then see what kind of abuse the boat would take. I did see a 70 ft houseboat with yhe pontoons sprayed with a good coating of the bed liner. The guy loves it he. doesn't worry about damaging the pontoons anymore

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

There are some videos of aluminum river boats where they have fastened sheets of UHMW onto the bottom, or sprayed a thick coating on. They took these things out to rocky rivers and bashed the hell out of them, driving over piles of rocks and sliding back into the water and abusing them as hard as they could. They get scratched up a little bit, but no damage to the hull at all.

We're using 1/4" sheets of UHMW for skid plates on rock crawlers, and they just slide right over rocks that an aluminum skid plate would have gotten severely dented and galled up on. Amazing stuff!

I can see this becoming a good material for molded boats, maybe a replacement for small aluminum skiffs. It's a little heavier than plastic, but virtually indestructible. Or a thin coating on a RIB, it would eliminate UV damage and leaking.

[ghostrider]

Originally Posted by captainbri

Ide like to see a builder make one boat with this stuff. FG then marine ply then a good 1/4 coat on the inside of the bed liner. This stuff it as tough as it gets. And then see what kind of abuse the boat would take. I did see a 70 ft houseboat with yhe pontoons sprayed with a good coating of the bed liner. The guy loves it he. doesn't worry about damaging the pontoons anymore

I'd have to see what 4-6mm of that stuff would weigh. It would be great on riveted dinks!

[captain58sailin]

I haven't used it personally, but I have heard several reports of commercial fishers using it in the engine compartments of aluminum boats and the sound deadening was significant. I am looking at using it in my engine compartment for the non - skid feature.